Teen Arrested For Trolling Tweet

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It would seem that trolling is an Olympic event now. The police were on hand to award the first place winner of the synchronized trolling event with a shiny pair of silver handcuffs.

After coming fourth in the men's synchronized 10m platform diving event on Monday, the 18-year-old from Plymouth received a message telling him he had let down his father, Rob. Rob Daley died in May 2011 from brain cancer. A 17-year-old boy was arrested at a guest house on suspicion of malicious communications.
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You could say something like that in person and not get arrested. Maybe get punched, but not arrested.
 
necrosis said:
And this is why I think the arrest is BS unless there is something else behind it we are not being told.
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It's probably because it's the Olympics, and The UK has a huge hard-on about enforcement of anything negative.
 
Dumb arrest and is a slap in the face to any Freedom of Speech laws out there.

Who defines "malicous communication?" How can you ever enforce anything that may or may not be illegal depending on how the person it was directed to interprets it?
 
(...) telling him he had let down his father, Rob. Rob Daley died in May 2011 from brain cancer
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So...?

People say things like that ALL the time.

"If your father/mother/uncle/dog was alive he'd be ashamed/embarrassed/let down by you/what you did".

That's a crime now?

Oh wait, it was in the UK, never mind.
 
I have read worse (on [H]ardForum probably). I suppose if he had just stated that the Olympic diver “let his country down”, then he may have gotten away with it. However, it would have been safer (and more accurate) for him to just say that the Olympic diver had “let him down”.

The arrest for “suspicion of malicious communications” may have something to do with the fact that he had sent the message to the Olympic diver. Although, if it was an accurate statement, that was made, then I wonder if it should be allowed.
 
I'm glad I have plans to move to Canada instead of the UK when this planet becomes intolerably stupid. Trolls like me would constantly find themselves arrested. :)
 
Just simply shows that what you say regardless of where you say it has implications. Take responsibility for your actions.
 
LeninGHOLA said:
That's a crime? Prisons are going to be full pretty soon.
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The UK saves room in their prisons by not implementing ridiculously long mandatory minimum sentences for non-violent offenses, so it's okay. England has about 20% of the prison population of the US, per 100k citizens.
 
NKDietrich said:
UK has a lower tolerance on being a worthless douchebag.
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And by calling him a "worthless douchebag" by something he said out of frustration/simple venting and later regretted and promptly apologised you have proven you are no better than him.
 
What happened to the good ol days when only nerds used the internet? Then the Baja Men let the noobs out...
 
Raudulfr said:
And by calling him a "worthless douchebag" by something he said out of frustration/simple venting and later regretted and promptly apologised you have proven you are no better than him.
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Of course he regretted it, he got arrested. You'll find getting arrested makes everyone who isn't a sociopath very apologetic. And the key difference is that I called him a worthless douchebag based on his actions. It's generally accepted that you are a douchebag if you do things like, oh, use someones dead relative to insult them.
 
The text that you post on [H]ardForum does get indexed into Google. There are some risky subjects, and there are some people who will seek out those who use risky words with the aim of making a high-audience lucrative story.

It is common practice for Journalists to regularly search through Twitter, looking for certain keywords, as there seems to be more twits there, who supply short impulsive less elaborate worded messages.
 
The thing that likely got him into the most trouble was saying "I hold a gun license for shooting birds and I'm gonna shoot yours as well.''

And don't think this is just a UK law. I know Tennessee has the same law, and I bet many states do as well.

http://law.justia.com/codes/tennessee/2010/title-39/chapter-17/part-3/39-17-308/

(4) Communicates with another person by any method described in subdivision (a)(1), without legitimate purpose:
(A) (i) With the malicious intent to frighten, intimidate or cause emotional distress;

If you tweet something in Tennessee that likely would cause emotional distress, it is a class A misdemeanor. I haven't seen anyone actually arrested for that, but it could happen.
 
Europe is in the crapper, and people wonder why. Morons. HUR GUVMENT, TAKE MAH FREEDOMS U SO SMART
 
He got arrested for making Death threats, not the insulting tweet.

Nate
 
Cyraxx said:
Europe's economy IS in the crapper. Do you have something to argue, or are you just here to insult? :rolleyes:
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Europe's economy is relevant to this tweet case and freedom of speech how?
 
Azhar said:
Europe's economy is relevant to this tweet case and freedom of speech how?
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Stupidity? If law enforcement is worried about a fucking tweet, it kind of illustrates the intelligence and where the government is heading....

And if you didn't know - Europe's economy is a direct impact on ours.
 
If you don't have the balls or guts to say what you feel to another person's face then you don't have the right to say it no matter what laws or constitution.


It's the right to be a pathetic coward some are enshrining here.
 
Cyraxx said:
Stupidity? If law enforcement is worried about a fucking tweet, it kind of illustrates the intelligence and where the government is heading....

And if you didn't know - Europe's economy is a direct impact on ours.
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Not every country have free speech and a number of them are doing quite well. We have free speech in the United States and, well look at our own economy. I seriously doubt if there's any connection there.
 
Anyone care to test how much freedom of speech they have in their country?

Please then start up a Twitter feed along the lines of #kill(insert name here) and post words to the effect of the following -

"I'm going to kill (insert name of leader here) by wearing a jacket bomb. It's time this pig went down! Death to (insert name)"

Then please post a link to it here.

I await a flood of threats to world leaders, especially one if most folks here are to be believed.
 
daglesj said:
If you don't have the balls or guts to say what you feel to another person's face then you don't have the right to say it no matter what laws or constitution.


It's the right to be a pathetic coward some are enshrining here.
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It's probably best that the legal codes of a nation are interperted by a court system that doesn't really factor in someone's reproductive or digestive systems in relationship to written law.
 
Deserves to be rejected by his friends and relatives for being a douchebag.

But arrested? WTF is this? People are far too sensitive about words.
 
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